30th July 2026
- From January to June this year, overnight visits by foreign residents to Ireland were up 15% compared to the same period last year.
- These tourists spent an estimated €2.6 billion, an increase of 18% compared with the January to June period 2025.
The Minister for Enterprise, Tourism and Employment Peter Burke has today welcomed data from the CSO showing that from January to June this year, the number of tourists visiting Ireland and how much they spent here saw significant increases, with overnight visits up 15% and expenditure up 18% compared to last year.
The Minister said,
“Today’s release of CSO data confirms the continued positive news for Ireland’s tourism sector in 2026, with growth across both international and domestic markets.
“It’s particularly positive to see that from January to June this year, overnight visits by foreign residents were estimated at 3.2 million, an increase of 15% compared with January to June 2025. The expenditure is also significantly up from January to June, with €2.6 billion spent by foreign tourists in local economies across Ireland from January to June, an 18% increase year on year.
“Furthermore, Irish residents spent a total of 6 million nights on domestic trips in Q1 2026, representing a 9% increase compared with the Q1 2025. Total domestic expenditure amounted to just over €679 million, which is also 9% higher than in Q1 2025. When looking at just June itself, visitor expenditure was €697 million, an 8% increase on last year and the numbers were 670,300, which is an estimated 2% increase on last June. In June 2026, the greatest number of visitors came from Great Britain (35%), followed by Continental Europe (32%), North America (27%), and the Rest of the World (5%).
“It is positive to see this growth in tourism numbers, with this year set to match or possibly overtake 2024, which represented a record year for tourism both globally and in Ireland. Our new policy, A New Era for Irish Tourism, contains concrete measures and ambitious targets to support further growth and opportunities for Irish tourism SMEs across the island. We need to build on this momentum and continue to invest in our offering, in tourism careers and in the sector, which is the biggest indigenous employer in the country, with huge importance to both rural and urban economies”.
ENDS
For further information please contact Press Office, Department of Enterprise, Tourism and Employment, press.office@enterprise.gov.ie or (01) 6312200
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